1976 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406 Doppelkabine UTE
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Yes, this lovely little thing makes it two Mercedes-Benz in a row to be featured here, but I'm sure you'd agree that our latest features couldn't be less alike. There will be no talk here of luxury, speed records, or in fact any performance figures at all - the Unimog is simply a wonderful little automotive character that deserved a spot on these pages. Strange name, "Unimog". Well, it's actually an acronym of "Universal Motor Gerat" (Gerat being German for machine or device) which goes a long way to explaining the purpose of the vehicle. The Unimog was a range of cars that was simply built to give people a vehicle that could "get things done".
Mercedes-Benz started designed the Unimog shortly after World War II, and had it penned to be an all-around agricultural workhorse. Note the fitting for the power take-off or "PTO" on the front of the car. This fitment was essentially a sort of drive shaft (driven by energy directly from the engine) that could be connected to any number of separate machinery for use in the field. This was the key to these cars - they were basically designed to be a self-propelled power source for various tools that were to be used in a variety of locations. Think tools for harvesting crops, saws for clearing out scrub from forest trails, hardware for plowing snow, winches for hauling other drivers out of ditches - you get the idea. This may be an odd analogy but I would liken it to a kitchen mixer, where you attach various different tools to the main drive shaft for different applications.
It didn't end there of course, as people imagined all sorts of ways to use these terrific utility vehicles (my Australian upbringing is showing through in the title, apologies if that's a new term for people but that's what "ute" stands for). Around 30 nations have chosen the Unimog for use as part of their armed forces, and countless towns use them in Europe for municipal duty (fire departments, remote maintenance vehicles, and emergency rescue). Not to forget the aforementioned trick of essentially being a portable generator for many other useful machinery in the field.
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Not only is this particular one absolutely cherry, the whole idea of the layout, the brute functionality, the combination of useable space and the lack of unnecessary overhangs appeals strongly to me. There's one similar in my neighborhood, it's not the short bed, four door unit, more like a pickup style with a canvas cover over the bed. It's very cool looking. It looks so functional, so useable. And it looks like I'd fit inside as well! at least I'd like to try. Want.
